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Re: Assassin's Creed Franchise Review: Updated 2/17 (ACII)

Quick question...does anyone know of anything I could install on my PS3 that would allow me to take pictures and videos while in game? It's becoming a real pain in the ass to scour the internet for suitable pictures for these, and it feels like I'm outright stealing at some points.

Re: Assassin's Creed Franchise Review: Updated 2/17 (ACII)

Originally Posted by Gen. Chris

Quick question...does anyone know of anything I could install on my PS3 that would allow me to take pictures and videos while in game? It's becoming a real pain in the ass to scour the internet for suitable pictures for these, and it feels like I'm outright stealing at some points.

Best bet would be to get a capture card. PS4 with it's share feature should rectify this

Last edited by irontaino; February 21, 2013 at 10:52 AM.

Fact:Apples taste good, and you can throw them at people if you're being attacked

Re: Assassin's Creed Franchise Review: Updated 2/17 (ACII)

How do I get a capture card?

Okay, news. I think after I write up the next two reviews I will do a short, revised review for ACIII. Since it was the first I played it was not influenced by anything else, but I have been thinking lately that I should write a short revised edition based on hindsight from completing the rest of the games, perhaps only a few hundred words, to add.

That being said, I should have Brotherhood added by tomorrow. I have written some of it, but I need to play some of it again to distinguish some of the memories I have from that compared to ACII.

Re: Assassin's Creed Franchise Review: Updated 2/17 (ACII)

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010)

I thought my work was done. I was wrong. Once more, I must venture into the fray. By recruiting enemies of the state, we arm those who have been disarmed by the Borgia. The greed, the corruption, the tyranny my enemies have spread will burn to the ground. From the ashes of vengeance, a new Rome will rise.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Desmond and the other modern day assassins are on the run after Abstergo discovered their hideout at the end of Assassin’s Creed II. Attempting to visit a memory set several years later in Ezio Auditore’s life, the Animus 2.0 instead forcefully makes Desmond relive another memory set in the middle of a large battle. During this memory, Ezio recalls a similar event previous in his life, again forcing the Animus to divert the memory farther back. After reliving this short memory, Desmond arrives at the town of Monteriggioni, an Italian town that had once belonged to the Auditore family. Setting up a new base of operations, the modern day team of Assassins work to uncover more information concerning Ezio’s life, as well the meaning of what had happened at the end of the previous game…

Desmond entering the Animus at Monteriggioni

In the past, the game opens up in 1499, mere moments after the close of the previous game. Ezio is in Rome after attempting to assassinate Pope Alexander VI, true name Rodrigo Borgia. Ezio’s uncle finds him and leads him back to Monteriggioni. Ezio, content with all he has done, believes he can give up the Assassin way of life that had consumed over twenty years of his life. After reaching Monteriggioni, the army of the Borgia’s led by Rodrigo’s son Cesare arrives and assaults the town. Ezio, knowing he must resist the assault to allow time for the citizens to escape, leads the defense. The effort rewards Ezio with a gunshot wound, the loss of his Apple of Eden (as well as the majority of his equipment) and the death of his uncle Mario. After the battle, Ezio attempts to pursue the army, but falls from his horse, weakened by his injury. Ezio wakes up in a Rome in the grips of Borgia corruption and deterioration. Determined to restore Rome, Ezio once again sets out on a journey to rebuild a brotherhood and end Templar and Borgia influence.

Battle of MonteriggioniEzio recovering from the battle

--
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood sees the player (and Ezio) return to the Italian Renaissance mere moments after the conclusion to the previous game. Unlike the previous game, which allowed the player to visit a lot of new locations, Brotherhood is mostly set in Rome. However, Rome is breathtakingly HUGE, with an amazing amount of detail and eye candy available for the player. The map was the largest until the release of ACIII and that game’s frontier, but it is still a huge map containing a variety of notable landmarks (the Colosseum, the Pantheon, etc) which of course are climbable. The graphics have also been noticeably improved, making running around the city of Rome quite drool-worthy.

RomeEzio traveling throughout the countryside surrounding Rome

The greatest addition to the game is of course referenced in its name: Brotherhood. This time around, Ezio is in dire need of help when liberating Rome from the oppression of the Borgias. He has his allies from the previous game (Machiavelli, da Vinci, etc), but what he really needs is assassins that are capable of helping him on a variety of tasks. In order to recruit them, however, Ezio must prove to the people that he can take the fight to the Borgias. Ezio (and the player) can accomplish this by killing Borgia captains and igniting the Borgia towers that said captains are in command of. Of course, each Borgia captain is surrounded by guards and the difficulty of each task varies. When Ezio accomplishes this, the Roman Brotherhood claims that particular area as their own, and Ezio is able to recruit assassins based on how many towers/areas are under control. By running around Rome and finding citizens in distress by Borgia men, Ezio can assist them by killing the guards and recruiting the grateful citizens towards the Assassin cause. These new assassins can be utilized by the player when on a difficult mission or even outside of missions when there are numerous guards that either need to be taken down silently while Ezio does other things or if Ezio is surrounded and in danger (arrow storm is a particular favorite, with the assassins firing crossbows from rooftops and quickly annihilating any guards in the area). Ezio can also send these assassins on missions out of Italy to help reduce Templar influence in other places, with the success of those missions granting experience to the assassins involved and granting Ezio money. As the assassins obtain more experience through battle and missions, they become stronger and more reliable in tough battles. Of course, the men and women Ezio recruits are not invulnerable, and if they die Ezio can replace them.

Assisting a civilian

Welcome to the Brotherhood

Eliminating Borgia influence in areas of Rome is also part of the changed economic system. Whereas in Assassin’s Creed II Ezio could renovate only the town of Monteriggioni, Ezio can now renovate shops and other structures that are no longer under control of the Borgias throughout Rome. After renovating these shops, Ezio receives an income boost to his personal finances, which he can collect from banks (which must also be renovated). Ezio can also purchase or renovate other structures such as the aqueduct system and even the Colosseum if they are no longer under Borgia control. The money gained from these ventures allow Ezio to make further purchases of either more property, weapons, armor, or other things.

Igniting a Borgia TowerKilling Captains and destroying the Borgia Towers allow you to renovate banks and other shops in the area of the tower

Other new additions to the game are some of the tools available to Ezio. One such tool that helps Ezio is the “climb leap” glove. In the previous game Ezio was able to learn the ability to climb leap, which allowed him to climb farther distances up walls, towers, etc. Following his injury at Monteriggioni and his relative aging between the two games, Ezio loses the ability to do this unaided. The climb leap glove, offered to Ezio by Leonardo, allows Ezio to once again do this. Another weapon that can be acquired from Leonardo is the poison darts. Like the hidden gun and the poison blade, poison darts is another upgrade to the hidden blade bracers, and is in fact a sort of combination of those tools. Firing a poison dart as a target will accomplish the same thing as poisoning them up close, just with the added benefit of a lesser chance of being discovered due to the range. Another tool, aiding in combat and assassinations, is the crossbow. Finally added to the franchise, the crossbow allows Ezio to perform stealth kills as well as aid in ranged combat. The crossbow, however, is quite an expensive weapon for Ezio to purchase, but is well worth it considering its stealthy nature. Finally, another new item that Ezio could acquire was the parachute designed by Leonardo, which allowed Ezio to jump from high places that did not have a haystack or cart nearby and survive. These of course are single use, and more could be purchased from a tailor.

Ezio firing a crossbowEzio likely confusing the hell out of that poor Borgia captain just before his death

One of the more notable additions to the game are the different enemies that Ezio will encounter in Rome. Much like the previous game, there are a variety of guards that have differing strengths and weaknesses that the player must consider when fighting them. Adding to that are several new enemies. The arquebusier is one of those that provides Ezio with an enemy that, while slower than crossbowmen, pack more firepower. Horsemen also occasionally appear that can be difficult to overcome until the player gets the hang of hurting their horse enough to cause the rider to fall, which Ezio could easily finish off. Ezio can also shoot them or counter by attacking while mounted as well. The Papal Guard is the ultimate new enemy, having all the good aspects of the other guards as well as being quick and powerful in combat. These new guards give Brotherhood a bit of freshness compared to its predecessor, as the combat would have been boring had Ezio been forced to fight the exact same types of guards as before.

Papal Guards are tough but are still vulnerable to assassinations

Notoriety functions much the same way as the previous game, and high notoriety pretty much always means inevitable combat. Combat is similar to the previous game. Consisting of basic attacks with a variety of weapons as well as the ability to counter and dodge, the combat has not changed much. One of the more noticeable changes is that the hidden gun can be paired with the sword slot and the throwing knives can be paired with the dagger slot, allowing you to use both weapons while in combat. You can also individually equip the gun and the throwing knives on their own, if you prefer. Also, Ezio can purchase a heavy sheath from tailors that will allow him to finally equip heavy weapons of his own, which can be useful in countering the stronger enemies. No longer does Ezio have to rely on temporarily using the heavy weapons of defeated foes only having to drop it later. Ezio can also throw weapons like spears now, enabling him to easily instant kill even the strongest of enemies which can help even out a fight before it even begins.

CombatEzio throwing a spear at a horseman aiming a crossbow at the assassinEzio clearing a bridge full of enemies

The missions, I feel, were slightly improved over the predecessor, offering the player a greater variety of missions that both contributed to the main story as well as the side stories. From infiltrating the Pantheon to locate a key item to becoming an extra in a play set in the Colosseum, the missions take advantage of the Roman locations to breathe new life into the game and provide more variety than just simply killing Templars in Rome. The side missions, such as the previously mentioned assassination contracts and Borgia tower burnings, now include such things like guild challenges from the various guilds, shop quests, and memories involving Ezio’s love interest. Ezio can also infiltrate the various places known as the Lairs of Romulus scattered throughout the city and countryside that hold keys protected by the Followers of Romulus, a cult centered around the city’s founder. These keys are protected by a variety of puzzles and, once collected, allow Ezio to obtain the Armor of Brutus and the Dagger of Brutus. Similar to the armor of Altaďr from the previous game, the Armor of Brutus is unbreakable. Another fun set of side missions are the War Machine missions. Leonardo was forced to design various things that the Borgia could utilize in war. During these missions, Ezio infiltrates the location where the war machines are held, destroys the plans, and escapes with a prototype. Of course, these missions involves Borgia soldiers, who pursue the assassin in other vehicles (such as in the tank mission when other tanks fight Ezio) or on foot or horseback. Once Ezio eliminates these threats, Ezio destroys his prototype, effectively ending the possibility for the Borgia to produce more.

Ezio firing the stolen machine gunEzio making off with a stolen tank and battling another tank crew

Overall, I feel the game is better than Assassin’s Creed II in some ways. The combat, economy, and missions have been revamped to give the player new challenges as well as more variety. Ezio and Desmond, I feel, have matured between the games. Ezio, while still the relative charmer and such as he was in the previous game, is much more serious given his age and the responsibility given to him to reclaim Rome and build the brotherhood. His war against the Borgias finally comes to a close by the end of the game. This was good, I felt, because it brought that arc to a close. Of course, Ezio’s journey is far from over as Desmond is forced to relive later memories due to the events that occur in the last few moments of this game. One of my few criticisms would have to be the complete power-hungry attitude of the Templars that has carried over from the previous game, becoming much more noticeable this time around. Another criticism has to be the implementation of “full completion” when it comes to mission, where the game “rewards” you with more synchronization if you accomplish a mission with optional objectives completely. Typically these optional objectives are time limits or limiting kills, or sometimes it is “don’t be detected”. Completing the optional objectives can be fun and challenging, but at times it feels like the game is forcing you to play a particular way that limits creativity. However, the game does make up for this by allowing you to go back and replay missions, whether you have achieved full synch or not, and it will allow you the chance to attempt it again. Another small con would be the games length, where some of the missions (main missions, mind you) just feel like they were included to lengthen the game rather than improve the game. Without some of these missions the game would have been quite short compared to its predecessor.

50% Synchronization...which means you "failed"Ezio watching with pride as his pupils participate in the liberation of Rome

However, I feel the inclusion of the new gameplay aspects as well as the continuing arc of the story that transcends Ezio’s understanding more than makes up for the few cons of this game. The soundtrack, voice acting, and script remain superb, really helping with the atmosphere and story in ways that are difficult to explain. Building the Brotherhood and retaking Rome was definitely a fun ride for me, and is a must after completing Assassin’s Creed II.

​A matured Ezio

9.5/10

One of the numerous songs that once again helps make this series so great

Note: This review does not include multiplayer, because as of yet I have not played it. Will add something for it once I have played it.

Re: Assassin's Creed Franchise Review: Updated 3/6(AC Brotherhood)

Revelations should be up within a week or so depending on how much work I have in the next week. I won't let it be as long of a wait as Brotherhood, though. I don't know why Brotherhood took so long.

Revelations will be a tough write, though. It will probably involve writing three different plot paragraphs and a much longer overall review though Brotherhood is the longest right now. Revelations is just so damn beautiful that it deserves a well written review.

Re: Updated 3/6(Brotherhood) Assassin's Creed Franchise Review

Brotherhood is indeed gameplaywise the best of the trilogy. Revelations is still good, and the hookblade is fun along with the bombs, but tower defense and invincible janissaries kill it.

I agree with your points made, also storyline about the powerhungry templars (although it made cesare a very nice opponent). 100% synch is contested, although i think its a good improvement. it pumps up the difficulty, and its an incentive to replay missions (an important new feature that you havent mentioned, in AC2 you could only replay side missions). Not getting 100% wont miss you out on anything (for brotherhood it means getting the christina missions a tad later). The missions itself were awesome, ive replayed the borgia machines a lot.

As for MP, i dont know how many people are gonna be active on it for console. On pc its pretty much dead, and even when it was full alive the matchmaking system was quite bad.

Re: Updated 3/6(Brotherhood) Assassin's Creed Franchise Review

I consider it a great point of shame that I have not yet posted a review for Revelations. I had been improving on it recent but due to a spectacular computer problem, I lost both that review AND many other things I had been working on (including several essays and the notes for such essays, the effect of such a loss bordering on tragic).

As a result, after I finish re-writing all of my lost essay material, I will have a new Revelations review to post. When? Who knows.

Re: Updated 3/6(Brotherhood) Assassin's Creed Franchise Review

Assassin’s Creed Revelations (2011)

I have lived my life as best I could, not knowing its purpose, but drawn forward like a moth to a distant moon. And here, at last, I discover a strange truth. That I am only a conduit for a message that eludes my understanding. Who are we, who have been so blessed to share our stories like this? To speak across centuries? Maybe you will answer all the questions I have asked. Maybe you will be the one to make all this suffering worth something in the end.-Ezio Auditore

You must listen to this while reading

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Taking place right after the end of Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed Revelations returns to Desmond Miles lost to the world in a coma. His fellow assassins have connected Desmond to the animus to keep him alive, and Desmond finds himself in the Animus black room, where he is joined by Subject 16, Desmond’s deceased predecessor that has been a sort of guide for Desmond when exploring other secrets about the past. Desmond learns that his journey with Ezio did not end with the fall of the Borgia, and that he must relive another part of Ezio’s life in order for Desmond to fully understand the past. In addition, Desmond also relives more memories of Altair’s life, giving him a greater understanding of the mysterious assassin. Along the way, Desmond also relives portions of his past, a journey he must complete to fully understand his own purpose in life, as well as the only way for Desmond to potentially escape the Black Room. .

Desmond in the Black Room

In the past, the game picks up about a decade or so after the end of Brotherhood. Ezio is a much older and wiser Assassin, and has embarked on a journey to understand the history of the Assassins since the time of Altair, the assassin from the first game. Traveling to Masyaf, the former stronghold of the Levantine Assassins, Ezio is ambushed and captured by Templar forces. Managing to escape, Ezio discovers the hidden library of Altair, but also discovers that in order to access it he must acquire several keys created by Altair. After killing the Templar captain in charge of Masyaf, Ezio discovers that the keys were hidden in various locations in Constantinople, occupied by both Templar (who are looking for the keys as well) and Ottoman forces. Ezio travels there and becomes a sort of icon to the Ottoman branch of the Assassins, due to his fame from his previous exploits. As he eliminates the Templar influence with the help of the Ottoman Assassins and befriends and helps the Ottoman Prince Suleiman, Ezio finds the keys, which he eventually uses to access the library. The keys, with the help of a Piece of Eden (Altair’s Apple) also allow Ezio to witness several key memories from Altair’s life as well.

An older Ezio. Don’t worry, he’s still a flirt

Because of the keys, Desmond is allowed to relive other parts of Altair’s life through Ezio’s own reliving of those events. One of the memories takes place before the events of Assassin’s Creed, but the rest take place after, one of them immediately after the events of the game. The memories of the assassin mostly revolve around his experiences with the Apple of Eden and his conflict with his friend Abbas, who wishes to use the Apple for himself. Through Altair, Ezio witnesses the flowering of the Levantine Assassin’s under Altair’s guidance, the faltering under the guidance of Abbas, and flowering again when Altair regains control of them. Throughout these memories, is becomes clear that Altair was both helped and harmed by the Apple. The struggle over the Apple is what led Altair to construct the library under Masyaf…

A young Altair

--

Assassin’s Creed Revelations features a small variety of locations, such as Masyaf (explorable as both Altair and Ezio), an underground city in Cappadocia, and, where most of the game takes place, the city of Constantinople. Cappadocia and Masyaf are only available for specific memories, however, so the majority of the open-world gameplay occurs in Constantinople. The map for Constantinople is divided by the Golden Horn and Ezio must use the ferry to travel to each side of the city. The city features numerous landmark and historical locations such as the Hagia Sophia, Galata Tower, the Yerebestan Cisterns, and the Hippodrome. The map is quite large (not as large as Rome) and much of it is occupied by water, but the game makes up for this by the large amount of detail and improved graphics over Brotherhood. Constantinople was a refreshing change after running around Renaissance Italy, as the architecture and the atmosphere of the location is radically different.

Welcome to Constantinople

One of the new features of the game involves a tool that Ezio receives from Yusuf (the leader of the Ottoman Assassins) upon arriving in Constantinople: the hook-blade. Taking the place of Ezio’s left hidden blade (which was broken before he was captured by the garrison at Masyaf), the hook-blade has a variety of uses. The city of Constantinople has dozens of zip lines scattered across the buildings, which are angled in such a way that the Ottoman Assassins and Ezio can use his hook-blade to “fly” across the city. Of course, since each zip line is angled, that means that they only have one way. Ezio can use these to quickly move around the city, and can also use them to assassinate guards on rooftops before the guards even realize what is happening. The hook-blade can also be used in combat, which can allow for rather brutal kills. The hook-blade has another use in running through groups of people (such as guards that block his escape) by using it to pull the man down and roll over his back, allowing the Assassin to continue his escape. Finally, the hook-blade allows Ezio to utilize the climb-leap technique of scaling buildings, an ability Ezio lost when he was wounded in Brotherhood (though he could use it by getting the climb-leap glove) and also because Ezio is not as good of a climber as he was in the past. In a way, the hook-blade is what allows Ezio in his older age to still function like he was when he was younger.

Ziplining through the city

Ezio using a hookblade to move through an enemy.

Climbing

Also of note is the addition of various explosive bombs to the games. I did not use them very often, but the times I did I found them fairly useful as distractions. You can build several types of bombs that can kill or distract. You can loot components for bombs from dead enemies, and there are several stations around Constantinople that allow Ezio to assemble the devices. Often times, these bombs are useful for completing a mission in its entirety (such as not being discovered…distracting the guards with the bombs can greatly help with this). Again, I didn’t use them very often, so they are not completely necessary for completing the game. I was just another small addition to the game to make it different than Brotherhood.

Building the bombs. Note the various components that can be used for different bombs

Using the bombs in the game

Returning to the game is the ability to recruit assassins to help Ezio in a variety of tasks. Like in Brotherhood, Ezio must capture Templar Dens by killing their captains and igniting them in order to remove Templar influence from certain areas in order to recruit more Assassins. These dens become Assassin dens, and Ezio can use these Assassins to help him on various missions and send them to other lands to end Templar influence in other regions. This rewards Ezio with money and also gives the assassins experience, the results of which enable the assassins to become stronger as they rise through the ranks. A new feature added to this is Den Defense, a sort of minigame that is still a part of the story. When Ezio becomes fully notorious by committing illegal acts, the Templars actively search out any Assassin dens. Unless Ezio lowers his notoriety, the Templars will eventually attack a random den, and Ezio will be forced to run to its aid, activating Den Defense. What this involves is Ezio standing on a roof during the attack and directing assassins to various rooftops to help defend the den. Ezio can also direct the construction of a barricade, and call in cannon fire to blast the street. The way this works is “morale points”. Each action costs a certain number of points, and they can be replenished by killing Templar troops. Each rooftop needs to have an Assassin commander (which costs points) in order to place regular soldiers on it. These regular soldiers can be armed with crossbows or arquebuses, and other assassins can be placed that will do rooftop assassinations. These assassins directly engage with the Templar forces, and can be fired on and killed. Barricades can be placed to stop the soldiers from directly attack the den, and the barricades can be destroyed. After several waves the Templars will bring in a siege engine, which must be destroyed before the minigame can be considered “successful”. If Ezio (who cannot engage the Templars directly) fails to stop the Templars, the den is lost, and it must be retaken again in order to use it once more.

Den Defense

Eliminating Templar influence in areas of Constantinople is also part of the economic system that has carried over from Brotherhood. Ezio can again renovate shops to open them as well as increase Ezio’s money. After renovating these shops, Ezio receives an income boost to his personal finances, which he can collect from the various banks scattered throughout the city (which must be renovated as well). Ezio can also purchase or renovate some of the historical structures. The money gained from these ventures allow Ezio to make further purchases of either more property, armor, weapons, or other things (sheathes, robes with a different color, etc).

While older, Ezio is still quite capable

Combat has changed since Brotherhood. Ezio is an older man, and fights in a seemingly much more conservative style, the hookblade being a personal favorite of mine. I won’t go into too much detail on this partly because there’s only so many ways you can talk about combat in this franchise, but let’s just say the combat with the hookblade is the most brutal in the game. Facing him are essentially the same old guard types with the introduction of quite possibly the most frustrating enemy of the whole franchise up to this point: the Janissaries. The Janissaries bring tough fighting in that they can both shoot pistols at Ezio and are quite capable melee fighters…getting surrounded by them can often lead to Ezio’s death. They are also quite fast and can catch Ezio in most situations. More than once I was forced to flee by using ziplines, which the Janissaries thankfully cannot use.

Ezio brutally killing a janissary

I have not done this as of yet, but I feel that the discussion of the soundtrack of the game deserves its own section. Jesper Kyd returns for the last time as composer, this time being assisted by his eventual successor Lorne Balfe and even Hans Zimmer. The entire soundtrack, the longest of the franchise, is over two and a half hours long. And in all honesty, the soundtrack is quite breathtaking. The main theme (what you should be listening to now) has to be considered perhaps the most stunning addition to the entire franchise. There are other quite noticeable tracks, from “Istanbul”, which plays in the background of much of the walking around, to “Labored and Lost”, which brings considerable atmosphere and “feel” to the scene it plays during. "A Hard Ride", one of my most favorite tracks from the game, was absent from the soundtrack. It's a shame, because it really is quite the heroic theme.

One of the best songs

Overall, Assassin’s Creed Revelations is one of the oddest, yet one of the most satisfying games. Missions and story have taken a strange turn, in my opinion. Throughout Revelations, Ezio only assassinates a few people, and much of the game takes place in cutscenes and the Altair flashbacks. Ezio pretty much sticks to Constantinople, though he does travel to Cappadocia for one sequence. It was clear that this story was intended from the start to retire Ezio…He’s an old man, like I already said, and he has spent much of his life as an Assassin, though not as long as Altair, which you learn in the flashbacks. Though the game doesn’t have much excitement or adventure in the way of missions (at least not compared to the previous installments), Ubisoft made up for it with an absolutely beautiful story. The game brings the story of Altair to a close, while greatly expanding on Desmond’s own story while trapped in his own consciousness: his adventures into his past are quite illuminating. Constantinople serves as Ezio’s swansong in that his fight with the Templar’s finally comes to an end, and Ezio realizes that his fight was not his own, but as part of a greater struggle that he cannot even begin to understand. The story ends in a worthy place, with quite possibly the best ending the series as a whole has to offer. The point of Revelations was not for the gameplay, it seems, but for the story, and I will say it again…The story was beautiful. Many people do not appreciate this game as much as its predecessors, calling it the worst of the entire series.

Altair after years of being an assassin.

Ezio and Yusuf

I respectfully disagree.

9.5/10

And like that, I am DONE.

It's been a long time for this update, and for that I am sorry. I hope it was worth the wait. I'm tired of writing for now

Re: Updated 4/24(Revelations) Assassin's Creed Franchise Review

Very good review, and i agree on most of your points. The setting was excellently done, constantinople is a very atmospheric city (people tend to forget that Rome was 50-60% grassland, while this is fully build). The bombs and the hookblade were a fun addition, den defense was a bit of a miss (but you cant blame them for trying). The desmond sections were not that bad in my opinion (but they also werent mandatory).

Storywise its probably the best. It gives excellent closure to Ezio and Altair (something Connor doesnt get, even with the TOKW dlc, which is a shame), and it brings back the moral dilemma whether assassins are that different from templars, cause in the end they both have a world view and they kill for it. Its quite diffrent from madraven Cesare "guards!" Borgia. Especially watching Embers after this will bring a tear to your eyes. And indeed, it has the best soundtrack

The criticism comes, i think, for different reasons. partly from warped expectations: ACII and ACB added a lot of new gameplay elements, which are now core. ACR didnt added so much (which is not that abnormal since you cant just pile up without it becoming a mess). Various "professional" game magazines gave this as a reason to give it a lower score (while offcours every "new" CoD gets a 95)

However, another part (which i agree) is the length of the game. It is in itself quite short, but it also has no sidemissions. If it werent for the excellent improved Multiplayer(new modes, better scoring system, awesome maps like Souk), i too would say that, objectivly spoken, it isnt worth €50.

EDIT: cant rep you at the moment. Also i might do small review on Tyranny of King Washington DLC

Re: Updated 4/24(Revelations) Assassin's Creed Franchise Review

I need to get Tyranny eventually...I just don't feel like spending the money for it when I can spend the same amount of money and get a full game, or several (just bought Uncharted 1 and 2 for like, twenty bucks). But maybe one day...